Jump to content
  • Sign up for free and receive a month's subscription

    You are viewing this page as a guest. That means you are either a member who has not logged in, or you have not yet registered with us. Signing up for an account only takes a minute and it means you will no longer see this annoying box! It will also allow you to get involved with our friendly(ish!) community and take part in the discussions on our forums. And because we're feeling generous, if you sign up for a free account we will give you a month's free trial access to our subscriber only content with no obligation to commit. Register an account and then send a private message to @dave u and he'll hook you up with a subscription.

Liverpool council buy Everton training ground


Marko121
 Share

Recommended Posts

Liverpool council bosses buy Everton FC's training ground Finch Farm in £12m deal - Liverpool Echo

 

Liverpool council bosses have bought Everton FC’s training ground in a £12m deal which will ease the Blues’ financial pressures.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson confirmed to the ECHO that the land deal had gone through.

He said the council had used its “borrowing power” to buy Finch Farm, in Halewood, in order to rent it back to the club.

The club already leased the land from a private company, Finch Farm Ltd, but the ECHO understands the terms of this deal mean the Blues will make “significant” savings on their regular rent payments.

But reaction from fans was mixed, with some calling the deal “morally wrong”. The council insisted it was a “win-win” situation for city taxpayers.

Under the terms of the deal, the council stands to make more money back from rent in the longer term than it has put up for the purchase.

Mayor Anderson said: “It’s a good deal for us and for them.

“We will get revenue from it, and it frees up money for the club.

“When I was approached to see if we could assist, we were happy to, and after a few months of negotiation it was done.

“This nails the lie that the council does nothing for Everton. We will do what we can when we can.”

Mayor Anderson said the income to the council would be invested into services and that the deal was “risk-free”.

The club moved to Finch Farm after leaving Bellefield in West Derby, after a protracted battle to gain planning permission for a housing development on the site.

The sale of that land to Bellway homes was reported to have made the Blues around £8m.

But in 2010, the year the Bellefield deal went through, the club’s debt increased by £7m, leaving it £44.9m in the red.

Everton FC is yet to confirm any details surrounding the deal, and information around how much it will pay in rent to the council and how much it stands to save are likely to be tightly guarded on the grounds of commercial confidentiality by both parties.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sound a bit like the Real Madrid debacle, and what could be deemed "state aid". If the council are going to rent the land back at less/much less than a private company would, then that does break the relevant rules.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't own a house and I don't know much about council owning property, but how is this supposed to be a 'win-win'? They borrowed the money (I assume with interest) and they are renting out the property to Everton (for less than what Everton were renting it for originally). Is this right?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't own a house and I don't know much about council owning property, but how is this supposed to be a 'win-win'? They borrowed the money (I assume with interest) and they are renting out the property to Everton (for less than what Everton were renting it for originally). Is this right?

 

Correct. This deal might make good sense for a property company. Oh hang on...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hang on, Liverpool City Council is having to cut jobs and services due to the savings being imposed on them by government which makes them one of the hardest hit councils, and they are propping up Everton?!

 

Exactly, they plead poverty one minute yet manage to find 12M down the back of the sofa the next.

They let the Anfield area go to shit then tell us if we want the planning application for a new stadium to go smoothly then they want a football club to regenerate the area rather than themselves.

 

Disgusting

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is difficult to understand how a club with income of £80m+ a year needs a deal with the Council for a training ground.

 

The deal may make sense for the Council financially, but if it is a good deal for them, why would it not be a good deal for Everton?

 

From Toffeeweb:

Everton's Finch Farm training complex has been sold by previous owners Hudson Capital Properties to Liverpool City Council for £12.925m according to a document [PDF] obtained from the Birkenhead Office of the Land Registry.

The firm had enlisted property management company DTZ to sell the land and facility in October 2011 with an asking price of £15.3m but Finch Farm remained in their hands until last month whereupon LCC stepped in to complete a purchase on 10th May, 2013.

 

The sale came to light after Finch Farm Limited, the subsidiary company under which the complex was owned, went into insolvency last month.

 

Formerly New Blue Properties and then ROM Capital [Academy] Ltd and registered in Chigwell, Essex, the company bought the land for £2.1m and paid for the development costs for the facility which was completed in 2007.

 

Everton signed a 50-year tenancy agreement for Finch Farm then and the club had an option to purchase the site every 5 years, one they declined last year. According to the Land Registry filing, the terms of the club's lease of Finch Farm remain unchanged.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest ShoePiss
It is difficult to understand how a club with income of £80m+ a year needs a deal with the Council for a training ground.

 

The deal may make sense for the Council financially, but if it is a good deal for them, why would it not be a good deal for Everton?

 

The banks won't finance them?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Finch Farm is in Halewood, Knowsley isn’t it. If it is LCC wouldn't be buying land on KBC land. Yet KBC are closing my kids school due to a deficit of 1.3m. Utter bastards if true.

 

It is in Halewood,knowsley.I live about a ten minute walk away,it's in finch lane. Near to the RSPCA.used to be a farm where you could pick your own strawberries (the jokes will inevitably follow! )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When Real Madrid did this, everyone was speaking of corruption and all that. Now with Everton you can't hear a whisper. Classic British hypocrisy.

 

Illustrate and explain the similarities between when Real Madrid "did this" and this deal.

 

Where is the hypocrisy?

 

The conundrum is that it appeas to be a good deal for LCC, but it would also have been a good deal for EFC. So why didn't they do it?

 

EFC cocked up by not buying it in the first place or taking up subsequent options.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Illustrate and explain the similarities between when Real Madrid "did this" and this deal.

 

Where is the hypocrisy?

 

The conundrum is that it appeas to be a good deal for LCC, but it would also have been a good deal for EFC. So why didn't they do it?

 

EFC cocked up by not buying it in the first place or taking up subsequent options.

 

Probablly because the land owners wanted the 12-15M up front and not paid in food stamps!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...